Life and Travels With Our Vintage Land Cruiser | Travels with Troopy | Jeff Kinsman

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Parts & Suppliers

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:07:04 +0200

We’re not afraid to name names and give specific equipment recommendations. These are our opinions and only reflect our experiences with these products. If it is on this page, we recommend it for your use (as appropriate for your type of vehicle).

“Your mileage may vary...” Troopy

Suspension:

All parts supplied by ARB USA Inc., Seattle, WA (www.arbusa.com) through the Performance Shop in Fairbanks, Alaska.

OME CS002F Springs (Front HD) - 2 ea.
OME CS003R Springs (Rear HD) - 2 ea.
OME N81 Shocks w/boots (Front) - 2 ea.
OME N42 Shocks w/boots (Rear) - 2 ea.
OME SD23 Steering Dampener - 1 ea.
OME SB1 Hanger Bushing Kit (F35mm) - 4 ea.
OME SB1 Spring Bushings (Front) - 4 ea.
OME SB 79 Spring Bushing Kit (Rear) - 2 Kits
OME U59B U-bolts (Rear) - 4 ea.
OME U55 U-bolt (Front flat) - 1 ea.
OME U59A U-bolts (Front) - 3 ea.
OME GS17 Rear Shackles (Greaseable) - 4
OME GS2 Front Shackles (Greaseable) - 4
OME GP1 (Front)/GSP-02 (Rear) Greaseable
Pins/Plates
Grease, lithium (for Zirks and pre-assembly)

Chassis and Axles:

Stainless steel extended brake lines - Specter Off-Road
Knuckle rebuild kit - Iron Pig Off Road
Front & rear bearing kits - Iron Pig Off Road
HD front & rear seals - Iron Pig Off Road
Manual hubs (AISIN) - Iron Pig Off Road
Differential bearing kits (ARB 160116) - Iron Pig Off Road
ARB Air Lockers (for front and rear diffs) / HD CKMA 12 compressor - Iron Pig Off Road
Tie rod ends (5) - Iron Pig Off Road

Wheels and Tires:

All parts, mounting and balancing supplied by American Tire, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska (www.americantire.net).

Cooper Tires Discoverer STT Size LT 265x75R16 - 5 ea.
Unique White Spoke Wheels, 16 in., Steel - 5 ea.

Engine:

Oil filter (no. 85627) - Car Quest Auto Parts (www.carquest.com)
Fuel filter (no. 86386) - Car Quest Auto Parts
Air filter (K&N) - Specter Off Road
Belts - (P/S no. TR26253, Fan no. TR22416) Car Quest Auto Parts
Battery Tray/Hold Down - Cool Cruisers of Texas
2H Headers - Cruiser Parts
Exhaust (custom) - Fairbanks Muffler and Exhaust
Battery - Optima Red (Starting) and Yellow (House) Batteries - Napa Auto Parts - (www.napaonline.com)
Alternator - All Four X 4 Parts (Australia)
Voltage Regulator (OEM Toyota) - Specter Off Road
Glow Plugs (6) - (OEM Toyota) - local source

Interior:

4-speed shift knob - Specter Off Road
New brake, clutch, accelerator pedal pads - Cruiser Corps
Front Bucket Seats - Cruiser Parts
Front Bucket Seat covers - Specter Off Road
Underseat Safe - Front Runner Outfitters
“Tuffy” Security Center Console - Specter Off Road

Exterior:

“Diesel” Toyota OEM front grill badge - Specter Off Road
Stock gas cap (Toyota OEM "diesel") - Cruiser Corps
Rear Swing-Away Tire Carrier System - Specter Off Road
R/L Jerry Can Holders (right side hinged) - Specter Off Road
Tool Carriers - Specter Off Road
HI-Lift Jack Carrier - Specter Off Road
Front Winch Bumper - Specter Off Road
Warn M8000 Winch - Specter Off Road
Winch solenoid bracket - Searchers 4WD (www.searchers4wd.com)
Roof Rack - Front Runner Outfitters 2.5m “WindCheetah” Slimline (actually designed for a Mercedes "G" Wagon, but fits the HJ47 by using Thule load bars and bolting it on)
40L Water Carrier - Front Runner Outfitters
Double Jerry Can Holder - Front Runner Outfitters
Tent Mounting kit - Front Runner Outfitters
Light Mounts (2) - Front Runner Outfitters
Load bars (4) w/8 “tall” feet - Thule (www.thule.com)
Rear ambulance door weather stripping - Cruiser Corps
Front R/L door weather stripping - Cruiser Corps

Camping:

Rooftop Tent - Eezi Awn Series 3 1800 with shower skirt - Equipt1 Outfitters
Awning - Eezi Awn 2.5m - Equipt1 Outfitters
Rear Tent - OZTent F25 “Jet Tent” - Family Tent Camping
Table - REI Roll-Away - Recreational Equipment Inc.
Chairs - OZTent “King Goanna” (2) - Family Tent Camping
Cots - OZTent “King Goanna” Stretchers - Family Tent Camping
Kitchen - Kanz Outdoors Field Kitchen with Partner Steel 22” camping stove
Pantry/Food Storage - Kanz Outdoors Field Pantry
Refrigerator - National Luna 52 Liter Stainless "Weekender" - Equipt Outfitters
Refrigerator Slide - Tembo Tusk Extreme Duty
Auxiliary "House" Battery System - National Luna Portable Power Pak - Equipt Outfitters

Web Supplier Links: (Not in any particular order)

Specter Off Road - www.sor.com (Our #1 resource for Troopy’s restoration parts and accessories. Great staff and very knowledgable. If they don’t have it they usually can get it.)
Cruiser Corps - www.cruisercorps.com (Great new website and good service.)
Cool Cruisers of Texas - www.coolcruisers.com (They’ve got high quality equipment and a great website - Cruiser calendars too!)
Expedition Exchange - www.expeditionexchange.com (great site for equipment AND commentary on quality, applicability, usability, etc. Wonderful resource. Too bad they won’t ship USPS up to Alaska!)
ARB - www.arbusa.com or www.arb.com.au (High quality vehicle and expedition equipment, particularly for Land Cruisers. We highly recommend their products - you’ll see more and more of them on Troopy as we progress!)
Man-a-Fre - www.man-a-fre.com (Older business providing Land Cruiser parts and advice - still one of the best)
Kanz Outdoors - www.kanzoutdoors.com (High quality field kitchen and pantry boxes for overlanding. Great stuff.)
Cruiserparts.net - www.cruiserparts.net (Another great resource for parts.)
Cruiser Outfitters - www.cruiseroutfitters.com (Land Cruiser parts and accessories)
Slee Offroad - www.sleeoffroad.com (Later model Land Cruiser and expedition parts)
Cruizers.com - www.cruizers.com (One of the largest sites exclusively for used TLCs - 40 through 60 series, parts and other-than-US spec cruisers - great resource!)
Cruiser Parts.net - www.cruiserparts.net (This is where we bought our used bucket seats and 2H headers. Good folks to talk with on your resto project!)
Equipt Expedition Outfitters - www.equipt1.com (Super expedition equipment supplier - this is where we bought our Eezi Awn rooftop tent, National Luna fridge and accessories.)
FrontRunner Outfitters - www.frontrunneroutfitters.com (Talk to Tina and Dave - we selected their Slimline roof rack and rack accessories for Troopy - great stuff - built tough in South Africa).
Searchers Off-Road Supply and Outfitters - (www.searchers4wd.com (Phillip and his crew in Louisiana have a great selection of parts and fabricate a perfect solenoid bracket for the Warn M8000 winch).
Overland Gourmet - (www.overlandgourmet.com and http://shop.overlandgourmet.com/) (Perfect place to shop for your expedition camp supplies and research those superb camp recipes. Highly recommended).
Tembo Tusk - www.tembotusk.com (Makers of our fridge slide and hold-down straps. Great quality equipment.)
Adventure Trailers - http://www.adventuretrailers.com/ (Great overlanding equipment including trailers, jerry can holders, 12v and solar, etc. Highly recommended.)
All Four X 4 Parts - www.allfourx4.com.au (New South Wales, Australia). If you've got an HJ47 Cruiser (or any other Cruiser from Oz), these guys either have or can get your resto parts. Shipping is expensive, however.)

Links & Books

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:56:15 +0200

Here's a short list of our favorite websites, books and videos on overland travel and vehicle preparation. This list is not all inclusive, but will get you started!

www.expeditionportal.com (Best site for expedition planning and info.)

Favorite Amazon List

Off-Roader Driving, Edition 1.2

Tom Sheppard

Vehicle-Dependent Expedition Guide Hb

Tom Sheppard

Overlanders' Handbook: Worldwide route and planning guide (car, 4WD, van, truck) (Trailblazer Guides)

Chris Scott

Who Needs a Road?: The Story of the Longest and Last Motor Journey Around the World

Harold Stephens, Albert Podell

First Overland

Tim Slessor

Jupiters Travels: Four Years Around the World on a Triumph

Ted Simon

Cold Beer and Crocodiles: A Bicycle Journey into Australia (Adventure Press)

Roff Smith

To Timbuktu

Mark Jenkins

Sahara Overland, 2nd: A Route and Planning Guide (Trailblazer)

Chris Scott

Sahara

Michael Palin

www.landcruisingadventure.com/ (Our FAVORITE overlanding site, plus we kinda like Karin-Marijke and Coen’s Troopy!)

www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ (Need a ride or inspiration? Go to the “4 Wheels" section for an interesting forum on 4-wheel overlanding - the rest of the site is great for 2-wheel overlanding too!)

www.ih8mud.com/forum (Best site for Land Cruiser technical issues and community forum - there’s a Troopy Registry there also.)

www.cruiserfaq.com (Related to IH8MUD - specific details for Cruiser production - invaluable.)

www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa (The Thorn Tree Forum - need we say more?)

www.tlca.org (Organization by and for Land Cruiser enthusiasts.)

Camping Gear

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:45:14 +0200

Our first selections for camping gear involved our most basic requirements: Water, food and shelter. We did a tremendous amount of research (as usual) both online through websites and by asking questions, reading forums on Expo Portal, IH8MUD and reading reviews and comparisons in Overland Journal. We’ve always found that you get what you pay for - good gear costs more up front but lasts a long time and doesn’t break out on the road when you need it most. We stayed away from the mass-marketed gear like Coleman and some of the cheaper brands sold in places like Walmart. They’re fine for weekenders but not for extended ‘cruising. I’ve used Coleman products all my life so don’t get me wrong. Their products are good for what they’re designed for - family camping for up to a few weeks.

So - here’s our selections and short narratives on why we chose what we did:

Front Runner 40L Water Tank w/Recessed Spigot

1. Water. Normally in the areas where we plan to travel (not too remote) water quantity won’t be a significant issue although quality might. We’ll be using a commercial filter for that issue. For storage we purchased a FrontRunner 40L water tank that attaches to our Front Runner roof rack. It has a recessed spigot on the left corner which allows us to use gravity to get a little pressure for washing up or for showers, although we plan on a different set up for showers. The straps are adjustable to ensure there’s a tight, rattle-free fit. The plastic is BPA-free, so no worries from chemical leakage from the tank. Out of all the units we looked at for primary water storage, this was the toughest (besides jerries, see below), permanently mounted water storage that doesn’t interfere with our cargo area storage.

Expedition Gear

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:41:02 +0200

On our Expedition Gear page we’ll document several large installs on the outside of Troopy including a Specter Off-Road front winch bumper, Warn M8000 winch, Specter Off-Road/Wilderness Products rear swing-away tire and jerry can holder, a FrontRunner Slimline “Wind Cheetah” roof rack and Eezi Awn 2.5 meter side awning. See our installation photos below:

Nice to Have an Extra Hand (paw) at Work!

Rear Bumper. Matt and I (and Duke, of course) tackled the rear bumper / swing-away tire carrier install. It was not difficult except it was quite a project to break loose the old rusty bolts that held on the old hitch assembly - it took a breaker bar and at one point some extra “help” in the form of a pipe over the breaker bar, which promptly snapped the bolt in two - but we got it out! It was then a fairly straightforward process of mounting the new bumper, fitting the rear tire carrier and both jerry can carriers right and left. I think the install looks great. Troopy is starting to look like a proper expedition vehicle!

Body & Interior

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:18:51 +0200

Troopy’s first bodywork is underway! I took out the seats, cleaned and prepped the interior and now the entire cargo area, front cab and running boards are being shot with Polyshield SS-100 “Arctic Liner” (similar to Line-X and Rhino Lining but much tougher) to beef up the resilience of the floor and running boards from daily abuse of boots and cargo. We selected Polyshield because it is almost pure polyurea and doesn’t have the fillers of normal consumer grade liners. It is hot shot at 2100 psi and cures very quickly. All the work was done by Auto Trim Design of Fairbanks (www.autotrimdesignalaska.com/spray_bedliners.html) I think the job came out great and will really give Troopy a “hard shell” protection for his interior. Here’s how we received Troopy back from the shop before any interior parts were installed:

Cargo Area Passenger Seat Post Area

Engine & Trans

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:12:56 +0200

Troopy’s engine is a Toyota model 2H diesel mated to a factory H41 4 speed manual transmission. The 2H is an all mechanical, normally aspirated 6 cylinder diesel engine with an inline fuel pump, EDIC control, glow plugs and with Troopy, factory power steering as an accessory. We chose the 2H over a 2F or other petrol engines because of its reputation for reliability, superior torque curve at low RPMs and good mileage (20 - 25 mpg), which is critical on an overland vehicle. These 2H motors, if well maintained and fluids changed regularly, are routinely known to exceed 500,000 KMs before requiring rebuild!

Putting out about 105 hp @1800 RPM and 177 ft/lbs. of torque at around 3000 RPM, the 2H has a higher RPM torque band compared to a 2F petrol engine, redlining higher than the 2F. Similar to all smaller diesels, changing to larger diameter tires obviously changes the gear ratio and affects the torque curve. Given stock gearing at the rear end (4.111), the small 2H needs a slightly lower ratio to spin those bigger tires with a similar torque band. Given this fact, we kept only a slightly taller tire size on Troopy than stock.

Suspension & Chassis

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:59:26 +0200

Our first restoration project was to remove Troopy’s tired old springs, shackles and shocks and to replace them with heavy duty units. Our first major decision was which brand to buy. We did much research, lurked on the ‘boards, (primarily IH8MUD.com and Expo Portal - see Links page) and finally decided on ARB’s Old Man Emu (OME) suspension components. Based in Australia, ARB is well known for their quality off-road components (particularly for Toyotas) and although their springs are now branded “Dakar” and built in Asia, they are still subjected to a rigorous inspection and quality control and are the number 1 seller Down Under. Luckily we found a dealer in Fairbanks (The Performance Shop) that could ship the parts up from ARB USA in Seattle at a reasonable cost. A debit card payment later and we were the proud owners of new OME springs, greaseable shackles, bolts, bushings and NitroCharger heavy duty shocks. Now what do we do?

Suspension Build

I’d previously done a suspension remove/replace on an old Suzuki Samurai with a similar leaf spring suspension set-up, so the actual build on the Troopy was pretty straightforward and something I’d done before (although its been a few years...).

Shop Talk

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:57:35 +0200

Where to begin... At the beginning I guess! We decided on the Land Cruiser HJ47 Troop Carrier for a number of reasons after much research around the internet on overlanding, old ‘Cruisers and through talking with folks in person and online.

Here’s what we we’re thinking to make our decision:

We love old Land Cruisers. ‘Nuff said on that one... They have a solid worldwide reputation, including in Africa (despite Land Rover’s marketing), and almost bullet-proof performance and reliability. Sorry Land Rover - there’s really no comparison in reliability, reasonable cost, parts availability (especially in Asia) and overall adaptability. I’ve owned both vehicles - Landy marketing is impressive, I will give it that! As for Jeeps - well... they’re American. Go overseas and you won’t see many. We owned a Jeep Liberty in Alaska - its a great truck - but we never even considered packing it in a container and driving it through Asia or Africa...
The standard FJ/BJ40 series (BJ is a diesel variant mainly sold in Canada) has very limited space to store the equipment and supplies needed on a long overland journey. However, we love the look of the “classic” 40 series. 60, 70, 80, 100, etc. series are fine, but we like the 40’s looks and rugged reputation. So, we gravitated towards the “station wagon” version of the 40 series for the extra room. Plus, we like the idea of cruising around in a vintage 40 series. It’s really as simple as that. I guess it boils down to primarily a personal choice more than anything else. There are certainly as capable or more capable vehicles out there for overlanding - but they don’t have the charm and charisma of an old ‘Cruiser - at least to us!
We didn’t want to haul a trailer, particularly overseas due to container loading limitations (for a 20 foot container), weight and country restrictions, engine wear and tear, extra fuel costs, etc.
A diesel was the engine of choice for many reasons including ease of repair, reliability, low-end torque off-road, and superior mileage compared to petrol. Unfortunately, diesel ‘Cruisers were never actually sold in the U.S. due to EPA and whatever else restrictions (very short sighted), so sourcing a stock model from overseas was really the only choice for us.
With long wheel base “station wagon”-type 2-door series 40’s only sold overseas (Australia and South America, primarily), we started looking on the internet and gravitated towards the 40 series Troop Carriers (designated with an HJ model number for diesels). We steered for those 45/47’s sold and designed for use in the Australian Outback. They have a great reputation and have many interchangeable parts with FJ40s and FJ45s (pick-ups or “utes” in OZ), not to mention that they come from a relatively dry climate (at least in South Australia) and don’t suffer from rust like those we saw from South America. We located a Troopy that was a late year model with a 2H diesel (great workhorse motor - See Engine Page), front discs and power steering. The body was straight and had very little rust. The price was a little high, but what the hell... Sold!

Restoration Planning

So - we drove the Troopy home to our backyard shop in interior Alaska - 350 miles north of Anchorage. Now what? First of all, we educated ourselves thoroughly online about common restoration items. See the Links page for selected websites dealing with mechanical and restoration issues. Everything we read indicated we needed a good preliminary plan to map out our strategy. After much research and thought, our overall plan for the vehicle emerged as a restoration to a solid, reliable and tough condition but without doing a complete frame-off resto. We call it doing a “practical restoration.” Frame-off restorations are beautiful but exceedingly expensive and our budget won’t quite fit one. And - it takes a long time! Besides, we weren’t after a Concours condition for shows. We were after a solid restoration so that the Troopy would survive the punishment of overland travel and carry all our stuff without taxing the suspension with our gross vehicle weight (GVW). Specifically, we wanted the running gear and body to be as beefy and rust-free as possible to give maximum reliability to the vehicle, good handling/clearance characteristics off-road and overall a truck we could be proud of driving around the world. We decided to break the restoration process into some large “chunks:”

Land Cruiser History

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:12:23 +0200

A little primer on Toyota’s history of manufacture, marketing and sales of the legendary Series Land Cruisers is in order on a site like ours, so please read on...

First, to familiarize you with Land Cruiser history in general I highly recommend this site (requires Flash plug in):

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/minisite/landcruiser/

Also, try this one:

http://www.toyota-global.com/showroom/vehicle_heritage/landcruiser/collection/model_40_1.html

And this one (from our friends at IH8MUD):

www.cruiserfaq.com

Early History - The “BJ”

It all started in early 1949 and into 1950. Toyota’s managing directors realized the utility of the early Land Rover models and of the ubiquitous American Jeep, of which there were many still in Japan after the occupation of WWII. They directed Toyota’s designers to take the best material attributes and basic utilitarian style of the two vehicles and design what would become the “BJ,” as dubbed by then Managing Director Hanji Umehara in 1951. In July of that year, test driver Ichiro Taira drove a prototype BJ model up the Fudo temple steps in Okasaki City inspired by his Samurai hero, Heikuro Magaki, who climbed the steps of Mt. Atago on horseback in 1634. Taira’s feat with the new BJ convinced potential commercial buyers and a skeptical public of the prowess of the new Toyota and the rest, as they say, is history…

Troopy's Blog

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:10:54 +0200

Please click the titles in the dropdown above to see our most current travel blog and some archives of previous posts.

Happy Reading!

Updates

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:56:11 +0200

Here’s our latest updates to the site (top entry is newest):

- Jan 21, 2013: Added a new Blog on packing for a trip to Lago Pozzillo next weekend.

- Jan 18, 2013: Brought the website back online. See the Blog for the complete story!

- May 20, 2012: Added a new Troopy's Blog on our trip to Noto Flower Festival.

Travels with Troopy (TroopysTravels) on Twitter

- May 18, 2012: Added a new link on the Links and Books page to Study Spanish in Madrid.

- April 23, 2012: Uploaded new photos on Troopy's Blog from the old website.

- April 22, 2012: Added new "Travels with Troopy" logo to Home, Links & Books and Contact pages.

- April 11, 2012: Finished the Eezi Awn awning installation. Posted new pictures on the Expedition Gear page.

- April 9, 2012: Added some new narrative to our awning installation and a new link to Drive Out magazine from South Africa.

- April 1, 2012: New website up and running! New look and functionality with Sandvox instead of iWeb. No more publishing issues!

- March 25, 2012: Added new story and pics of the interior wood deck install.